A veteran Queens elementary school teacher was arrested yesterday after allegedly assaulting a 6-year-old student. Grace Peterson-Hagendorf, a retired teacher working as a substitute at PS 22 Thomas Jefferson in Flushing, allegedly pushed a girl into her chair around 10 a.m. Wednesday, twisting the girl's neck with enough force to cause pain and bruising. Her husband Arthur Hagendorf defended her to DNAInfo, "I think she was falsely accused of this. She would never hurt a child in any way, shape or form."
Peterson-Hagendorf taught for 35 years at PS 32 State Street in Queens and retired about two years ago. She has been charged with assault and acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 years old. The Department of Education has suspended Peterson-Hagendorf, and released this statement:
Grace Peterson-Hagendorf is a retired teacher who works as a day-to-day substitute. She worked at P.S. 22 in Queens twice this year. She began at the DOE as an elementary school teacher in 1983 and worked in various schools before retiring in 2010. She is ineligible to work in our schools, pending the outcome of her case.
